Acheulean type tools from the Pleistocene river bank south of Maastricht (NL) / Galets amenagés de la rive Pléistocène, sud de Maastricht (NL)

Introduction
This a brief article about some Acheulean type tools ( pebble tools) found south of the Dutch city of Maastricht.
In this region, located southto south west of Maastricht, we find a part of the Middle- Upper Pleistocene Romont terrace [ base at + 109 m. a.s.l.] ( Juvigné & Renard, 1992, Juvigné et al.,
2008)
, at an altitude of ca 115 m . a.s.l. where Pleistocene gravel deposits are exposed at an eroded surface ( see image below).
This terrace is a part of the Sterksel -formation, and is corresponding with the Eben -St. Geertruid terrace with an estimated age of 890 kya. (Harmand (1989).
Pissart (1961, 1997). Clairbois (1958), Juvigné (1992) and Felder et al. ( 1989)). The finds were located at the surface of a field with GPS -coordinates N 50 48.418, E 5 41.115, where Late -Pleistocene loess deposits were eroded downhill.At this field, coded PLC ( visited annual between 2006-2011), a corresponding stratigraphy was noticed in the horizontal spread of gravels in the field, compared and more or less corresponding with a vertical stratigraphy in a former small quarry, some 50 meters to the north. The location of large boulders from a high energy load of the river could spread some light on the position of the gravel in the field, as these boulders appeared at the surface after plowing.This only gives an indication about the original location of single finds, it is e.g. unlikely an artifact, found at the surface would have moved uphill by itself, so its position in the field can only be determined in a horizontally matter. In case the location of the finds is corresponding to the visible uneroded horizon in the field, the artifacts come from a horizon from the St. Pietersberg terrace ( base at + 112 m. a.s.l.) , that was overlying the Romont terrace.It is important to recognnize finds with features from possible Lower- Palaeolithic contexts at Pleistocene riverterraces, sinc they could point us to possible locations for further investigations in the wider area.

Fig. 1: simplified model of the field, with the parts PLC-A and PLC B- / BB at Visé Caster ( Dutch: Caestert) , compared with a local vertical stratigraphy in a pit at only 50 meters north from the field. The Romont terrace is located at + 108 a.s.l. so the finds must originate from an older terrace, at a position of + 115 m. a.s.l. The loess cover at this location ( PLC-BB ) would have been originally positioned at the dotted line in the picture, but has eroded completely, partially a part of the loess cover has moved because of the construction of the Albert Canal.

Fig 2. Model of the field with the location of the find spot, above the upper part of the original Romont terrace. Tools were found at ca + 115 m. a.s.l.Figure 2. Modèle de site PLC, de la localisation de trouvaille, au-dessus de la partie supérieure de la terrasse Romont originale. Des outils ont été trouvés à environ + 115 m. au dessus de la niveau de la mer.The artifactsThe found pebble tools comprise a bifacial chopping tool, a ( broken) chopper, a pyramidal pick and a biface. The chopping tool and the biface are made of quartz, the chopper and pick of a fine grained quartzite.The bifacial tool has two blows at one side, one blow at the other side and the artifact has an overall patina, covering the whole surface. This is giving the blows a shiny, glossy appearance.The chopper, that has been broken, still shows two intact blows , and where it is laterally broken, it gives the impression an additional blow has been performed. Because it has been broken, the backside is no longer visible, so maybe this also was a chopping tool.The biface, made out of a beautiful quartz, has been made on a naturally split pebble, where the distal end ( butt) shows three different blows at the edge, which is not the only evidence for human activity on the object.The right sided edge at the point,seen from the ventral side of the artifact, has been partially reworked by very much tiny blows.The pyramidal pick has been made by small blows from several sides, to make a pointy tool with a wide butt.

The period & discussionWithout a reliable, original position in the local stratigraphy, it is difficult to say much about the period where these tools could be placed in.It is clear, there are clear characteristics to assign them to a Lower Palaeolithic period ( roughly between the late Cromerian - early Belvedere), regarding the heavy patinas that occur on the quartz tools comprising the surface of the blows : both showing a very glossy patina which is part of an overall patina on the artifact's surface, caused by taphonomic processes in the field.
It is also clear, isolated blows made on quartz and quartzite pebbles are not found within assemblages from the Middle Palaeolithic ( thus corresponding with the Neanderthals) from the wider region, e.g. found in assemblages from Veldwezelt Heezewater ( Bringmans, 2006), as these find correpond to a Levallois technique based debitage.In such case, a late Middle -Pleistocene date would be appropriate for the artifacts: - they all appear at PLC-BB, that is, located in the top gravels of the sloping end ( ca + 115 M a.s.l. ) of the originally highest part of the Mt. St. Pierre, which highest point would have been ca + 122 a.s.l. = ca -7 meters below the 'top', part of the St. Pietersberg terrace. - the technological stage for these artifacts is a Developed Oldowan Mode -2, corresponding with the Acheulean: the irregular technique in tool manufacturing is comparative with the Middle Acheulean technical stages in Europe, ( 600.000 - 400.000 years ago). - This would correspond with a period ca. 400.000 years ago, ( pre -Belvedere, Holsteinian) comparative with the Belle -Roche ( Sprimont) industry, which is however not without discussion ( Cordy & Ulrix-Closset 1981) and for a wider region with tools attributed to H. heidelbergensis ( like found at Grotte du Vallonet, France)- The assumed oldest ( pebble) stone tool of Belgium was found some 8 km more to the south located at the same Pleistocene river bank, at the St. Pietersberg terrace of Halembaye, which is a rude cleaver ( triedre), attributed to the Cromerian complex ( De Heinzelin, 1977) - The quartz chopping tool was found in one of the most flint rich regions of North West Europe. the simple Developed mode -1 technique is very rare for the whole region, especially also, because Middle Palaeolithic finds are common for the region , but mainly processed in the Levallois technique.

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Ken Johnston: Portable Rockart

Prehistoric people made art, not only by means of wall paintings in caves, but also creating or collecting small objects like heads, figurines, ducks, mammouths, etc. of wood, bone, antler... and stone.

These ( small) objects fit in a nomadic life- style and were easy to transport.

Many examples and links can be found at the website of Ken Johnston from Ohio (USA) about portable rockart